Satisfying the Vocal Minority – Why it Matters

When I wrote about Dell’s IdeaStorm I mentioned that one of the key factors to their success was the ideas in action section of the site that allows Dell to show its community that the company is not only listening to them but also implementing their recommendations. Today, Dell has taken this a step further.Browsing to the Dell homepage today I was pleasantly surprised to see the following image:Now let me first say that Dell doesn’t actually mean ‘popular demand’. What they mean is by the vocal minority’s demand, Ubuntu has arrived. And in the postscript they reinforce the idea that they are listening to their community and they are responding. But the most important thing to note here is the consequences of doing what the vocal minority is asking.Though the move may not ‘directly’ result in a significant amount of sales, from a marketing perspective this will help momentously in terms of getting Dell’s name out there. For example, the official Ubuntu site, which sees a significant amount of traffic on a daily basis is even advertising for Dell very prominently on their homepage.The people that requested Linux on Dell are incredibly vocal and they are going to write about it all over the place, probably write glowing reviews, commend Dell on the move, and even send some social media traffic over to Dell. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not doubting Dell’s intentions here, rather I’m making the case for unintended benefits (and goodwill) that arise from listening to the vocal minority.

I think I have been hanging around digg to long and actually feel I want to get one of these bad boys.Even if it’s just to pour petrol on it, burn it and post the video on digg just to watch the bury brigade stop scratching themselves and digg me a deep one.

Hi Muhammed,Appreciate your support and seeing the value in IdeaStorm. While it may get our name out there, the Ideas in action section also, I hope, reinforces that we are refocused and listening to our customers. While we may not implement everything the community calls for, I hope this part of Ideastorm serves as a place where people can at least garner an understanding of our point of view, pro and con…and respect that we are listening.As always thanks for your views and perspective.

Not bad. A Dell representative commenting on the topic? I believe with such marketing Dell may very well getting much more loyal customers (especially vocal ones).Now, do I get a free Linux laptop to blog about it?